Smoochy Girl's Pinup Boy

Smoochy Girl, like Sonny Ma-Jiminy before her, eats a lot. I mean, she eats a REAL LOT. On one hand, it's good not having to worry about getting food into her, but after a while I tend to wonder if there's some sort of problem. Why does she eat so much? Isn't the food touching the sides as it goes through her?

At this stage, there doesn't seem to be a problem. She's just a big eater. And like her brother, she is a tiny little pocket rocket with thin arms and legs and a huge head, and after meals she also has a gigantic swollen tummy threatening to spill its contents everywhere.

Breakfast is one of those meals when my kids eat like teenagers. The only breakfast cereal that I like them eating in such huge quantities and doesn't break the bank is the traditional Aussie favourite: Weet-Bix. It's relatively healthy, fairly cheap and which Aussie kid doesn't remember being excited about the Weet-Bix collector cards in the box?

Sonny Ma-Jiminy eats three Weet-Bixes which must be arranged in a pyramidal structure lying in a bed of muesli or he has a tantrum.

Smoochy Girl eats two Weet-Bixes which is still more than most Australian adults can chow down in a sitting. And I think that's a bit excessive. However when I call a halt after the two are eaten, she has a Sonny Ma-Jiminy-like tantrum and demands more, even if her tummy is swollen and huge and she starts crawling around the floor puking up bits of Weet-Bix and milk. She just loves to eat.

Currently, Sanatarium must have some sponsorship deal with the Australian cricket team. The current collectors cards feature the team members with some vital statistics that may or may not determine their inclusion or otherwise into the Australian squad. These crucial stats include the number of tests and One-Day Internationals played, wickets taken, sixes scored and catches taken. And of course, the clincher: How many Weet-Bixes each player eats for breakfast.

I notice from our recent haul of cards that Mark Waugh and Michael Bevan, both long-term players who are classed as "Legends" on the cards, eat four and five Weet-Bixes respectively. Good show.

Chris Rogers, a new inclusion into the Australian side, is sucking up to the selectors and evidently the sponsors by claiming to eat 9 Weet-Bixes. A huge effort.

But the player who has caught our attention is Brad Hogg. 37 years old, 1.83 metres tall, 117 tests/ODIs played, 153 wickets taken, five 'sixes' (big-scoring hits), 34 catches taken and, dum-da-dumm ...

Only Two Weet-Bixes For Breakfast!

That seems downright un-Australian.

But it's been helpful for me. I've stuck this collectors card up beside Smoochy Girl's high-chair and we now refer to it at the end of each breakfast time.

"Now Smoochy, look at Brad. He has two Weet-Bixes and then he stops. You can do that too. You've had two Weet-Bixes, and now you can stop too, just like Brad."

Every mealtime now she points to the card and says "Ba!" in between each mouthful.

And this is why at twelve months of age, along with 'Mum', 'Dad' and the names of her brother and the family dog, Smoochy Girl has the name 'Brad' in her vocabulary.